Today's recipe is for a simple yet tasty side dish called Farasbi chi Sabzi, farasbi being the Marathi word for French Beans. Many recipes in Maharashtrian cuisine call for the use of "Goda Masala" which is traditionally made and stored at home. I have, however, used store bought Bedekar's Goda Masala.

Ingredients:

Farasbi (French Beans), 250 grams

Peanuts, 2 heaped tbsp

Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp

Hing, (Asafoetida), 1/8 tsp

Curry Leaves, a few

Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder, 1 tsp

Bedekar Goda Masala Powder, 2 tsp

Jaggery, grated, 1 tsp

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Oil, 2 tsp

Salt, to taste

Method:

Wash and string the French Beans and cut them diagonally into 1 and 1/2 inch pieces
Dry roast the peanuts, and when they are cool enough to handle remove the skin
In a small mixer jar, make the peanuts into a coarse powder and keep aside
Heat oil in a kadhai and when it gets hot add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add hing, few curry leaves and saute for a few seconds
Add the French Beans, salt, sprinkle a little water and cook covered on medium flame till the beans get done. Make sure they are not overcooked as they should remain crunchy even when cooked
To this add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, goda masala powder and grated jaggery

Mix well and cook for a few minutes till the raw smell of the spices goes
Add the coarsely ground peanut powder
Mix well so that the French Beans are well blended with the peanut powder
Finally squeeze the juice of half a lemon and serve